Lee Carsley had a promising start to life as England’s interim manager as the national team moved on from the Gareth Southgate era. Stuart Rayner was at Wembley for the Nations League over Finland and, along with Leon Wobschall, assesses both that performance and the win in Dublin over the Republic of Ireland on Saturday.
The team then turn their attention to the EFL and the handful of Yorkshire teams in action, starting with Barnsley ending their wait for a home win at Oakwell.
They also cast an eye over our three teams in League Two, Doncaster Rovers and Bradford City both enjoying weekend wins, while the early-season frustrations continued for Harrogate Town at Cheltenham Town.
The team then turn their attention to the EFL and the handful of Yorkshire teams in action, starting with Barnsley ending their wait for a home win at Oakwell.
They also cast an eye over our three teams in League Two, Doncaster Rovers and Bradford City both enjoying weekend wins, while the early-season frustrations continued for Harrogate Town at Cheltenham Town.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Hello, and welcome to the latest edition of Football Talk from the Yorkshire Post, where
00:15we will be discussing some of the latest talking points from the world of football with members
00:18of our football writing team. On this week's episode, we're joined by Chief Football
00:22Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post,
00:26discuss all of the latest developments affecting our local clubs. Don't forget you can keep up to
00:30date with all the football news across Yorkshire and beyond by logging onto our website at yp.sport
00:35at nationalworld.com, as well as checking out our various Twitter feeds, the main one being
00:40at ypsport. If you search for Yorkshire Post Sport, Yorkshire Post Football, or even Sheffield
00:45Sport on Facebook, you can find us there as well. And if you have any questions for our writers,
00:50you can get in touch using those various Twitter or Facebook pages, or email us directly with a
00:54subject matter at footballtalkpodcast at yp.sport at nationalworld.com, yorkshirepost.co.uk.
01:02As mentioned earlier in the intro, this week, we're joined by Chief Football Writer for the
01:05Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Leon Wobbshaw.
01:09Good morning, guys. Morning. Morning. Morning. Right. This week, even though it was an
01:14international break, we saw Rotherham United share the points in their one-all draw with
01:18Charlton Athletic. Huddersfield Town saw their game with Blackpool suspended due to international
01:22call-ups. Now in League 2, Bradford City claimed all three points in their 2-1 win over Carlisle
01:29United, and Harrogate Town fell to a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat at the hands of Cheltenham Town.
01:35However, let's start this week by looking at the recent activity of the England national team,
01:41which saw the start of life after Gareth Southgate with a 2-0 victory over the Republic
01:46of Ireland, which was then swiftly followed up by a 2-0 victory when they welcomed Finland.
01:53What did you make of the two performances, Stuart?
01:57A good start. Certainly more entertaining than the football played under Gareth Southgate,
02:09although it has to be said that Southgate's team has, quite regularly in the last qualifying
02:14period, won those games 4-5-0. Carlisle's only did 2-0. I think the issue for England,
02:22as I say, there was really good fluidity, really good switching of positions. It was entertaining
02:29to watch, and obviously that's what you want, but I guess the acid test for England is not
02:35the two years between tournaments. England have got very good at that. It's what happens in the
02:40big tournaments, and we won't know until we get to the next one whether this style of play will
02:45work there or not. I mean, Gareth Southgate was obviously of the opinion that it was too difficult
02:51a job to implement that style of football and succeed with it in a major tournament, and in
02:57fairness to him, the way Carlisle's team played against Finland the other night, the way they
03:03were playing, switching positions and everything, I think the closest I've seen to it in European
03:10international football was probably the Dutch total football team of the 1970s.
03:16Just sort of coming to an end as I was born, a bit early for Leon to fully appreciate,
03:25but what we do know about it was it was great to watch, and it won nothing.
03:31And that's the big dilemma. I mean, to be honest, I think come the next World Cup,
03:37it's going to be 60 years since England have won a trophy. For me personally, whilst you always
03:42want to play entertaining and winning football, I think for England, where they are now, if you've
03:47got to choose between them, it's got to be winning football, and you worry about the style once you've
03:53got that monkey off your back. I don't know what Leon thinks about that. Yeah, I mean, it's one of
03:58those. I mean, England can only really now be judged in tournament, can't they? In qualification
04:04and these sort of things, they tend to breeze through them, and it's pretty serene, isn't it?
04:10He's clearly a guy who's got a lot of ideas, and there were some good aspects in the two games.
04:17He's got plenty at his disposal, but you can only really judge him in tournaments, can't you really,
04:22at the sharp end of them? But how do you find out about somebody like Carsley? It is in tournament,
04:30so you've got to give him a chance in that regard. So yeah, that's going to be the decision,
04:36is it? Are they going to be brave enough to be pleased by what they've seen, and there were some
04:41good positive signs, give him a go when it matters, or do they ultimately go for someone who,
04:48if the right candidate's available, who is tried and trusted? So I suppose it's an argument to say
04:53that they'll not really find out about Carsley until they actually give him a go in the sharp
04:59end of a tournament, and it's whether they're brave enough to do that. Yeah, I mean, certainly
05:03on the back of these first two games, I hope they do. They've invested a lot of time to put him
05:09in the system. He certainly seems to be thinking in good ways. I mean, the honeymoon isn't going
05:15to last because he's got some difficult decisions over the corner. When you think that Paul Palmer
05:21wasn't involved, Jude Bellingham wasn't involved, Phil Foden wasn't involved, Kyle Walker wasn't
05:25involved, you'd think all of those players would come into the team, but then when you take a step
05:30back, you think, well, for whom? There's a lot of competition, which is exactly what you want,
05:37but he's going to have to upset people, and when you start upsetting players of that calibre,
05:43it means that whenever you don't win a game, obviously everybody's going to be saying,
05:47well, why didn't you play X? So it's certainly not going to be easy for him, but it's good to see
05:53Harry Kane looking reinvigorated, how much that was due to the fact that he was making his 100th
05:59cap, how much was his style of football, time will tell, but he certainly looked well-suited
06:05to the style of football. It was good to see players fitting seamlessly into different jobs,
06:13to what they do for the clubs, good to see others like John Stones maybe playing a bit more,
06:18like their club style of football, and yeah, a positive start, but it was a 2-0 win over
06:25the 58th-ranked team in the world, and a 2-0 win over the 63rd-ranked team in the world,
06:30so whilst it was good to watch, as ever, it's a good case of keeping things in perspective,
06:38and we'll see how things develop, but it should be fun to watch it develop, I think.
06:43I think everyone probably sees him from the outside as the continuity candidate, but
06:48he's clearly auditioning for the job, and as you've touched upon, Stuart,
06:51some of the tactical tweaks that were quite interesting, that's him
06:58showcasing his own personality almost, isn't it? He's not just going to take on the baton
07:04and run with it, he's going to bring his own ideas in, which he's got to do. I think the
07:12bottom line is that whether it's Carsley or the Ultimate, he'll buy them some time,
07:17whether they go for somebody else going forward, they've got a hell of a lot to work with there,
07:21haven't they? Certainly in terms of forward positions, you look at it,
07:32Saka was playing in Gordon, and he brings on the lad from Chelsea, he brings on Eze,
07:36there's a comparative embarrassment of riches there, there's a hell of a lot to work with,
07:42from what I saw of the Finland game, Madueki did quite well, didn't he, when he came on,
07:49he looked quite an interesting option. So, yeah, a hell of a lot to work with him,
07:56positive signs from Carsley, it looks like he's going to buy them a little bit of time
08:01in the thinking process, and if he can do well in the next few sets of internationals,
08:06he's going to propel himself right to the top, and the early signs are that it would be
08:14an interesting appointment, he's certainly got some tactical ideas that he wants to bring in
08:21and implement. Yeah, I mean, if anything, as England Under-21 manager, Carsley showed us
08:26that what we already thought was a really deep squad is deeper than that, with the likes of
08:32Madueki, the likes of Angel Gomez, there is more talent there to be mined, and I say it's going to
08:38be a difficult process for him for deciding who not to involve and who isn't quite adaptable enough
08:45for this style of play, doesn't have the right mindset, some players might be, obviously the
08:52problem at international football with the big countries is you've got players who used to be in
08:57the big dogs at their clubs, for them to suddenly be on the bench or in and out of the team could be
09:03difficult for them mentally, so you need the right players to deal with that, but I mean,
09:08Leon's hit the nail on the head, whatever job you're doing as a manager, good football buys you
09:15time, and that's what Carsley's doing right now. I think it seems from the outside as though
09:21England's big dream is to buy enough time for Pep Guardiola to decide, I'll finish with Man City
09:29now and I'll come to England, but whether that's going to happen or not, it's another matter.
09:34Yeah, exactly. I mean, we did, we both, just quickly, we both didn't, we were at respective
09:40games on Saturday, probably catching up with the Republic of Ireland game, that second goal that
09:46England scored, I can't think, I know it was, obviously you've got to factor in the opposition,
09:51that was one of the best team goals I think I've seen them score for a long time, you know, it was
09:57you know, exactly the, I suppose the sort of goal that people were, people were sort of criticising,
10:03you know, we didn't see enough of that under Southgate, that sort of thing, it was a,
10:06it was a brilliant team goal, wasn't it? It was, yeah. And yeah, if you're gonna, if you're gonna
10:12sort of, you know, showcase your credentials for the job, I'd certainly put in that little,
10:19little video reel right at the top, because it was a, that was a tremendous goal, I thought.
10:23And kind of one of the sort of excuses of the Southgate era was, well there's limits with what
10:29you can do because of the time you have with players on the training ground, but that was a real,
10:34it looked like a real training ground goal, now whether it was or not...
10:38Slow, quick, slow, quick, it was brilliant, wasn't it?
10:40Exactly, I mean, it might be that that wasn't worked on the training ground,
10:43it was just the product of 11 really good footballers being given the freedom to play,
10:47but whatever it was, it, you know, it did show what's, what's possible at this level.
10:52Of course, the question is, it's the age-old thing with England, they're normally very good
10:57at it in September, the tournaments are only in May and June, and then possibly June, July,
11:01when they're knackered at the end of the season, but that's, that's to worry about later down the
11:05line for now. I'd say it's a case of enjoy it, I think, and see where it goes.
11:09I know the thing you put in your match report, Stu, I just had a quick read of that and,
11:13you know, the fact that, you know, Gomez holding and pushing Rice further forward, which is sort of,
11:19yeah, you know, he gets sort of pigeonholed a bit, Rice, he's just this sort of number six
11:23who sits there, but, you know, I think everyone who watches him at Arsenal, you know, he can
11:29implement things and dictate further forward and, you know, when you push him for a title,
11:34you just don't bring someone in for 100 million just to sit there in the middle of the pitch,
11:38you know, knock out 10-yard passes, so that was...
11:41And of course, he scored the goal in Dublin and had his chances on Tuesday as well.
11:45So, yeah, I mean, I think the word interesting, really, you know, he's,
11:50Karzai's clearly got a very, very active and sharp coaching brain and the signs look good,
11:56and he's a good, he's a young age and, yeah, I think there's an argument,
11:59it's a strong argument if things continue to go reasonably well to give him a go.
12:05I mean, the interesting thing about that midfield mix, sorry, just to go back to that,
12:09is Southgate got bashed a lot in the World Cup for not playing players in their proper position.
12:14Obviously, that was playing Declan Rice in his club position,
12:17but actually Gomez is a number 10 for Leal.
12:21So, you know, it's kind of a mixture of the two, we'll put Rice in his club position by playing
12:25Gomez, which just shows you there's no hard and fast rule to how you should do things.
12:31He's obviously got a very bright mind, very imaginative, to see how I can mix,
12:36you know, the best elements of what's happening with club football to maybe pushing
12:40people to different limits. And yeah, so it was really good to see from Karzai.
12:46That goes with trusting players, though, doesn't it?
12:49Exactly. It's more you're a good footballer than you're a whatever type of footballer.
12:54I mean, it's like with Spain, isn't it? You know, they're the standard bearers,
12:58everybody talks about their midfield, but you can sense the sort of Spanish manager.
13:02He would trust the players and say, right, you can fit in at the A, you can be the six, you can be,
13:07you know, good, intelligent footballers will sort of know what to do.
13:11And I think it all, years ago at Liverpool, I think I remember the famous one when Souness
13:17went there and asked Joe Fagan, you know, where do I play and what do you want me to do?
13:22And he got a load of expletives and just said, you effing work it out because we've
13:26paid all this money on you. So that's sort of part of it almost, isn't it?
13:31You play the centre midfield, you've played a lot of games at various levels.
13:35You and your mates work it out, sort of work it out yourself and show that brain.
13:40So yeah, that was interesting from Karzai as well. Maybe there was a bit of that in it, I don't know.
13:45I mean, you always need that in international football because even the best squads have
13:49always got something missing. You know, for England at the moment, it's a left back. Rico
13:53Lewis, you're a good footballer. Levi Cole, you're a good footballer. You work it out.
13:59Thinking as much as we're saying what England miss in midfield.
14:02Yeah.
14:02Players have got to work things out themselves, haven't they?
14:04That's right.
14:05Level D. The thinking comes and that's,
14:09thinking and working it out is part of the package of being a top international footballer, isn't it?
14:14That's right.
14:15Exactly. And next, let's turn our attention to League One and Barnsley,
14:20who claimed a 2-1 victory over Bristol Rovers,
14:23with debutant Davis Keller-Dunn getting on the score sheet within 11 minutes of the game.
14:29Now, what did you make of the game and will this be a good confidence boost
14:33as they head into their game with Stevenage, Leon?
14:36I think it'll be a good confidence boost in the respect that they've got the monkey off the backs,
14:41as he said afterwards. Darrell Clarke had not won in the previous, I think it was eight,
14:46home league games. I mean, okay, he only came in the summer, so what went on in the final third
14:52of last season had nothing to do with him as such. But even so, there's a lot of players still there
14:59from last season. Not won at home since February 24th. You don't want that carrying on into a new
15:06season too long, do you? So, it was good that that one got ticked off. I think it was good in
15:14the respect that Barnsley didn't go and wallop Bristol Rovers. They deserved to win, but they
15:20had to sort of see the game out in the last sort of 15, 20 minutes when they had a little bit of
15:28a flurry and rested towards the end to try and nick an equaliser and Barnsley put bodies on
15:36the line and found a way through. Going forward, especially in the first half an hour, they were,
15:42I thought they were excellent. Keeler Dunne came in and he was talking about intelligent
15:47footballers and he certainly seen one of those. He was sort of drifting left and coming inside and
15:56I think it helped the Bristol Rovers midfielders. I think they were missing one of their big players
16:02on international duty. They just didn't look after him or Connell at all. Didn't press them
16:07well enough. But yeah, he looked a really intelligent footballer. Keeler was a great goal,
16:12lovely flick from Luca Connell and he was away and he always looked like he was going to score.
16:19His set pieces were good. He linked play really well. He was really sharp and bright.
16:26We've spoken before about Barnsley midfield. There's a really nice balance there that maybe
16:33in time, you look at Huddersfield time, they're going to have to find out. That sort of balance,
16:38if they're going to kick on a little bit. Matthew Craig, he was sat in the deep role.
16:45Connell was a bit further forward. We know about Adam Phillips. He'll get on the end of things.
16:52He should have scored in the first half. He didn't, but he fairly scored in the second.
16:57So there was a lot of good things, especially in the first half an hour going forward.
17:01They look the part. They look like they've got one of the best midfielders, if not the best
17:05midfield in the division. I've not got too many worries about Barnsley going forward,
17:10if they can keep people fit. Sam Cosgrove, he did a lot of the selfless work and he linked quite
17:16nicely with Connell. They've got Humphries on the bench. They'll get him up to speed.
17:21They've got Kelechi, I can't remember his surname now, but the lad they've got who was at Arsenal
17:29a few years ago. He's going to come in. They've also got Max Watters. He's obviously been injured.
17:35They've got Giallo, who's done his show, who's going to come back soon. So plenty of options
17:39there. It's just further back. That's my only worry with Barnsley. I think, what did they
17:43concede? Sixty-something goals last season? Sixty-three goals, I think it was. If you look
17:50at it, they've never really sorted the defence since Michael Duff left, almost. In fairness,
17:56they lost Mads Andersen. He was a hell of a player. He went to Luton. They lost Liam Kitchen
18:03early last season. Bobby Thomas as well, because Barnsley never got promoted, he wasn't going to
18:09come back. So it's just an ongoing process to get that defensive unit right. Obviously,
18:16new goalkeeper as well. From what I've seen of Solihono, he looks a good shot-stopper, but I
18:25think he remains a work in progress in terms of coming out for crosses and the sort of bread and
18:32butter stuff, if you like. There was a bit of a miscommunication with Donovan Pines for the goal
18:38on Saturday. I know he made a mistake against Northampton as well
18:42in the home game earlier. Just that balance defensively, it looked better when they brought
18:49Pines off, to be fair. He was on the left, you had Mark Roberts on the...
18:57Pines was in the middle, Roberts was on the left, he was on the right. Obviously, Pines came off,
19:05Earl dropped back as the left-sided centre-half and Roberts went in the middle. I think that's
19:10suited Roberts a bit better as well. They were a little bit better on that count.
19:18I know it's early days and relationships do develop. If I was looking at Barnsley, I would
19:23say they look good going forward. There's a balance in midfield, but just worry about them
19:31a bit defensively, but hopefully they can iron that out in time. Maybe that game, that second
19:37half, showed that what Barnsley really need is an organiser right in the middle of that defence.
19:46That previous back three that Leon talked about, they were well organised, but when you've got
19:53English football, you've got quite young players. They've obviously lost Jordan Williams, who
19:57sometimes played in the back three last season and was the captain. Maybe just getting Roberts
20:02in that central position where he can see everyone, basically coach everyone from the
20:07middle of the back three might be the way forward for them, fingers crossed.
20:12Keylor Dunne seemed a little bit of a luxury signing when he arrived. As Leon's already
20:18alluded to a couple of times, the midfield was already brilliant as it was and he signed another
20:22midfielder. It goes back to what Leon was saying about the England team, where you work with what
20:28you've got and you go with a more midfield heavy way of playing. With him and with Phillips, you
20:33can get goals from the midfield. You can allow yourself a striker who's, no striker has everything,
20:41particularly at Ligue 1 level. So, to go more for a Cosgrove type who's perhaps better at the
20:47build-up play, not quite so lethal in the box as say Devante Cole was. It's just working with what
20:54you've got. He holds the ball up, Phillips and Keylor Dunne become the runners. And suddenly
20:58you're posing teams different problems. That's the thing about having a transfer window open
21:04in the season. Sometimes at the start of the season, at the start of pre-season,
21:08you can have a certain role in mind for Adam Phillips or whoever it is. But as the players
21:14around them change, suddenly you need them perhaps to do slightly different jobs and to have those
21:19intelligent, adaptable players that Leon was talking about before. Sometimes as a manager,
21:23you can't just be wedded to one formation. It might be, well, hang on, because I didn't get
21:27this striker or I didn't get that centre-back or whatever it was. I just need to tweak things.
21:33They often stumble across a better way of playing than what they started out trying to do.
21:39I think a lot of the players look, there's quite a lot of adaptability going forward. I think
21:46Keylor Dunne looks a very intelligent footballer. Connell, he can operate in different positions.
21:52I just think they need to get that stability at the back really. They can tinker with certain
21:58things going forward but successful sides have always been a big advocate of not really changing
22:06your defence unless you particularly have to because that's how you develop relationships,
22:11isn't it? If you've got a middle man, stick with him. Obviously the two are this side.
22:18I do think that Roberts in that central role, for all manner of reasons, suits him better than
22:24being slightly out wide. He scored 63 goals late in last season. If you're going to go up,
22:30you need to be conceding about 43, don't you? You need to chop about 15 or 20 off that.
22:37I think that's the concern that I have with Barnes in the minute. It's still early days,
22:44isn't it? I think they could do with a clean sheet or two, couldn't they?
22:47Especially at home. I think they've only got one since the end of November.
22:57I think that was against Cheltenham. That's not good enough early, is it?
23:01It's not but ten points from five games,
23:03it might still be finding your way. That's a pretty good start. We've said all the way
23:09through it's going to be high tariff this season. If you can feel your way into the
23:14season from a start like that, you're not doing too badly.
23:16Yeah, you're right. He'd have taken that all day long, wouldn't he? Ten points from five.
23:23And now let's look at League Two and Doncaster Rovers, who were able to overcome Gillingham
23:28with a 1-0 victory thanks to a Billy Sharp goal, which is now his fourth of the campaign so far.
23:34This is also Donnie's fourth win from the first five matches.
23:38What did you make of the performance, Stuart,
23:40and how do you see them going into their clash against Harrogate Town?
23:44Well, really good from Doncaster in a couple of aspects. One, they played really well.
23:50They made lots of chances against the deformed team of August in Gillingham,
23:57so it was good on that respect. But it was also good in the respect that
24:01Graeme McCann's complaint, and it was justified, was that they didn't put Gillingham away when
24:05they were on top. But having not done that, the character they then showed to grind out that 1-0
24:13win. I mean, you know, Liam, I'll tell you, Gillingham are one of those teams that really
24:18test you physically. They're just that sort of team. And whilst Doncaster limited them to
24:26very, very few chances, I think Luke Molyneux had a goal line clearance, but the goalkeeper,
24:32I don't think, had a save to make, certainly nothing notable. But it's always in the back
24:37of your mind, you know, they just need one set piece, they just need one long throw.
24:43Particularly at home, where you kind of feel the emotions more, because there's more of your fans
24:46on the ground, it does test you out. So it was a good character test as well. And they're looking
24:53good, Nick. They're looking good, Nick, in that sense, and in the sense that they've got players
24:57on the bench who can come off it with minimal alteration in terms of the quality. You know,
25:04Billy Sharp did a great shift for an hour, scored a really good goal. But then Joe Ironside came
25:09on for half an hour and really ran the defenders hard. You know, you've got players like Kyle
25:14Hurst, who was brilliant in pre-season. He was on the bench, you got Ben Close, who Leon spent
25:19with last week. He's had a really difficult time with injury for, what, six months or so,
25:23but we know he's a really good player. And you had players not even making the squad,
25:28you know, other players who were injured, like James Maxwell. So there's a lot there in that
25:31squad. You know, Newport was kind of the warning sign to them. I think mostly two teams that,
25:39let's be honest, you know, you're not going to be that ultra-consistent. You are always going to
25:43have your bad days, and it's how you react to the Newport days. And if you see them early,
25:47then it's better, isn't it, really? Exactly, exactly. But as for how they'll fare against
25:51Harrogate, well, one thing we know about Harrogate is they do like a Yorkshire derby.
25:56You know, they beat Doncaster home and away last season. You know, Leon and I have seen them beat
26:01Bradford numerous times over the years. They do really get up for these games. They've had a
26:05difficult start to the season. You know, we'll talk about that later, you know, particularly
26:09at Wetherby Road. But there is just something about these games that brings the best out of
26:15them. So if Doncaster are even slightly complacent, they will probably pay the price for it.
26:21And so, as I say, encouraging to see that sort of mindset, that sort of toughness against Gillingham.
26:27But if he drops for a game or two, it will cost them. Yeah, they're ticking a lot of boxes at
26:33the minute, Doncaster, aren't they? They're finding, you know, the home record's been,
26:38you know, if you take out the, obviously, the crew playoff game, it's been remarkable,
26:43hasn't it, since the end of February. Different ways to win as well. I mean,
26:46they obviously hammered Accrington on the opening day, scored some brilliant goals,
26:51and they probably had to tough it out a bit more. I think they only just got a single
26:56goal against Morecambe and obviously on Saturday as well. I think that'll do some of the young
27:01players good as well. I know you've spoken, you've talked to young McGrath, haven't you?
27:07Yes, he was brilliant on Saturday.
27:08If you think like that, you know, how much confidence will he get? You've beaten a big,
27:12physical, strong side in Gillingham, who are going to be up there in the top seven this season.
27:17You know, you've just edged it out, you've kept a clean sheet, got a 1-0. You know,
27:21that should be terrific for his confidence as well. And, you know, you look at some of the
27:26other players as well, there was certainly a lot of adversity this time last year, wasn't there?
27:31You're talking about options, that's one thing that I've got now. And, you know,
27:34you look 12 months ago, there were injuries all over the place, weren't there?
27:37Yes.
27:39They were into double figures as well, it wasn't just four and five sometimes, it was,
27:42you know, 10, 11, 12. So, they've got that, they've got those sort of options, which is,
27:48you know, Stuart Spawn to say that, look at the bench the other day, they had, you know,
27:53Close and Ironside and Sabara, the 10, you know, good players are getting, they're getting,
28:00you know, good league two sides, wouldn't they? So, yeah, that's been encouraging.
28:07Yeah, it'll be a test for them at Harrogate. By all accounts, they were a bit unlucky, Harrogate,
28:12at the weekend at Cheltenham. They've suffered a little bit, they've conceded a few sloppy goals
28:17from set players of late and maybe missing one or two players, the likes of Thompson in particular.
28:24But they're one of those sides, Harrogate, you've sort of, people have sort of written them off
28:28before and sort of said, well, they're going to hit a bad run, this and that, and they'll pull
28:32a result or two out of the bag, and Stuart's right to say that. It's probably come at a decent
28:37time, this derby as well, and, you know, Sky are going to be there, there's going to be a bit of,
28:43it's going to be on, a main event on Sky Thursday night, a bit of focus for Harrogate. So, yeah,
28:52I mean, Doncaster will have to be on the map, I think.
28:56Just touching on Leon's point about injuries, they did have a lot of injuries last season,
28:59and we often talk in a later kind of way about bad luck with injuries.
29:04Often it's not bad luck, I mean, sometimes it is, but, you know, McCown was very critical of the
29:09lack of pre-pre-season work last season. He said players didn't do enough work on their holidays,
29:14and this summer there's been a real focus on the fitness side of things over the summer during
29:21pre-season. You know, lots of input, I think, from the sports scientists and what have you,
29:27and I don't think it's coincidence that they've got fewer players missing. You also tend to find,
29:33you know, it's a truism, as long as the day's old, that the better the team's doing,
29:36the fewer injuries you have, because players are just that much more desperate to get involved. I
29:41mean, Richard would be desperate any time, but he had a broken ankle the other week before he had a
29:47scan. It's not luck that Doncaster have got more players available. I think there's been some hard
29:57work behind the scenes, and it's good to see, you know, there's a few of our clubs, you know,
30:03Middlesbrough is another example that spring to mind. It's good to see them just building on a
30:07good finish to last season rather than ripping things up and starting again, as happens too
30:12often in football nowadays. I'm probably just quickly thinking about Doncaster, you're probably
30:17looking a bit far ahead, but you just think if they're in a good position by Christmas,
30:22there's a lot of players who were still there from last season. What happened in the second
30:27half or the final third, if you like, of last season, that's got to give them confidence,
30:30hasn't it? If they're in a good position by late January, the winter window closes,
30:37they've got to have in their mindset what happened in the final third of last season,
30:41you know, when they really did get on a serious roll. So, yeah, I do think probably looking at
30:48Doncaster, if they can keep, you know, the main squad together and avoid the perils of injury
30:58during the winter, they're going to be probably cursed, and it's probably a commentator's curse,
31:02isn't it now? They should be right up there, shouldn't they really? I'm not going to say
31:08they didn't deserve that, but they should certainly be in the mix, you would have thought.
31:12And also, I think it's not just the good memories of last season, it's the bad as well. I mean,
31:16how often do you see a team finish second and then push on to win the league the next season?
31:25It was a point Grant McCann made instantly in the dressing room after that crew
31:30playoff semi-final defeat. Think how you feel today, don't feel that way again,
31:36and the combination of the two could really drive them on.
31:38And they probably did that after the stop-ball game when they got happy,
31:41definitely. It could have gone one way or the other, that game, they got beat 5-1
31:46and they obviously went, the stuff about putting up the league table, that really
31:51worked for them, didn't it? And they drew strength from that bad moment. So,
31:56sometimes the adversity can be more important than anything, can't it?
32:01Now, staying in League Two, what did you both think of this week's activity in the division
32:06and what do you make of the start of the season from Bradford City, Doncaster Rovers
32:11and Harrogate Town? Let's start with Leon on this one.
32:16Yeah, well, we've spoken fairly at length about Doncaster and certainly after what happened
32:26in the crew game, a bit of disappointment, but there had to be perspective even though it was
32:31tough given what had gone on before, which was absolutely remarkable, wasn't it? One of the
32:36EFL stories of the season. Disappointing they couldn't clear the final couple of fences but
32:44still a great story. They've still great character to start the season off strongly. I think it was
32:51it six out of eight in all competitions. So, Grant McCann would have taken that.
32:57Yeah, a little bit mixed for Harrogate but I would certainly never write them off and
33:04they've got a couple of derbies coming up as well. So, Stuart said, tends to bring the best
33:10out of them. If they can get a positive result of two there, that could get their season up
33:16and running. I think Bradford have done all right as well. I mean, they're home four and they've got
33:21sort of seven points from nine. Good win for them on Saturday against Carlisle.
33:28You've seen the Bradford loads of times sort of, you know, mess up these sort of games really when
33:33you don't expect them to beat teams at the bottom and they don't manage to do it. So,
33:39yeah, good to see Andy Cook. He started off the season in typical fashion, scored against one of
33:45his old clubs. I think he's got another one hasn't he on Saturday at Walsall. So, he spoke well of
33:52him recently, Graeme Alexander. He spoke of his, he's been really professional in pre-season. He's
33:59got himself into terrific shape and, you know, in a way I think there's a few senior players
34:05at Bradford, you know, they're entitled to look at Alexander. He played until he was, you know,
34:10late 30s, start of his 40s, looking after himself very well, model professional and maybe that's
34:18planted a few seeds in, you know, in the minds of the likes of Cook and Smallwood who both started
34:25the season very well. There's, yeah, there looks a decent strength about Harrogate. I don't know
34:32Stuart thinks a little bit like Doncaster. They've had one or two, one or two injuries and the
34:36Baldwin's come out and Sarsovic hasn't sort of disrupted them too much. So, yeah, positive signs
34:43and obviously Jamie Walker came in on Saturday at his best. He can be a really big player for them
34:53and he put his hand up against Carlisle. That was good to see. So, yeah, it's going along okay at
35:00Bradford. Yeah, I feel like with both of those two league clubs, again, it's like what we were
35:05saying about Doncaster. It's building on last season. There's no sort of panic. We need, you
35:11know, we've seen it a lot with Bradford. Oh, we've got to change course. We've got to sign 10 players
35:15in the transfer window and sell another 10. It's been a lot more, a lot more relaxed, a lot more
35:21building on the good things from last season and I think that's what Alexander and Weaver both
35:25bring. You know, they've both been around the track. They both know what they're doing and
35:29their players know that they know what they're doing. So, when they say something, you know,
35:33you listen to it. Yeah. And I think, you know, I think the big thing, the big thing for Alexander,
35:38for Bradford, you know, for years has been the home form. You know, they've got some good home
35:44wins at the back end of last season. You know, to get that win over Carlisle, to follow up the
35:49first home league win of this season was important psychologically. They need to believe that Valley
35:58Parade is a place where they will win games, not worry about other teams coming and parking
36:04the bus and can we deal with it, that it's going to happen. But, you know, they just have to be
36:09calm about it and relaxed. And, you know, Leon mentioned Sarcevic, you know, he is probably,
36:16with his background and his, you know, expertise and winning promotions, one of the players Bradford
36:22would have really been looking to build around this season, but he's not been available and it's
36:26not been a drama, you know, and that's, I think that's where you've got to be as Bradford. You
36:31know, you always have big players like Andy Cook, like Sarcevic, like Smallwood, you know, like
36:37players in years gone by, but it can't be a massive drama when they're not available. You know, you
36:43need to keep calm and say, well, yes, we're without player X, but we've got enough other
36:47good players. You know, we're without Aiden Baldwin, but, you know, we've got other players
36:52who can come in and step up, you know, they brought in Diabate around the same time.
36:58So, I think that's good. I think that calmness about Bradford is good. It's, you know, it's easier
37:05to be calm early in the season than when it gets to squeaky bum, and that's when the test comes.
37:10And it's not just a test for the players, it's a test for the supporters as well. But, you know,
37:15Harrogate, with the greatest of respect to them because of their smaller fan base and their,
37:22you know, their background in terms of where they come from, you get the impression there is
37:26generally that sort of calmness around them and that perspective to not get too carried away.
37:31And it means they don't get pushed along so hard in the good time. It also means that when you have
37:36a shocker like they had in the League Cup against Preston, you know, last season even worse against
37:42Blackburn. You know, everything doesn't get thrown up in the air. They've got some exciting
37:54players there. I mean, you know, Thompson's obviously nearer the sort of older end of the
38:01range in fairness to him. But, you know, the bits I've seen of Sam Villar and he always looks like
38:07a good player and one they'd do well to keep on to for as long as possible. And, you know,
38:12they do seem to find these odd germs here and there. You're never going to be over-blessed
38:16with them on there. But the odd one they can feed off and as we've alluded to, you know,
38:21they can rise to the occasion. So I think, you know, I think Harrogate will be fine.
38:28Bradford will certainly be fine. The question mark for Bradford is can they be better than
38:33Fine because Fine isn't good enough for that football club. But I think the early signs are
38:39good. And I think that when they have the wobble this season, because they will, they've just got
38:44to stick with Graeme Alexander, stick with what they're doing. And I think if they do that,
38:49I think there's a very good chance they'll come out of it well.
38:52I think it's out just quickly with Doncaster and Bradford. They've not gone for numbers,
38:58did they, in the summer window. They sort of looked at it and I think they were both,
39:02obviously, you can't forget how Doncaster finished the season. But, you know, don't
39:07also forget how Bradford finished the season. They only just, they only just missed out,
39:11didn't they? I mean, I did the game at, talking about Derby's with Harrogate, I did the game at
39:17Harrogate, Bradford, I think it was towards the end of March.
39:22They were appalling and the club was in, you know, there was, there was a bit of a tumult
39:27behind the scenes. And, you know, you did fear for Bradford, they were on a, they looked on
39:31Skid Row and it was a real low point. And, you know, it's important to remember how they finished
39:36the season. And credit to Graeme Alexander in that regard. I think the one, was it the last
39:40six or the last seven, something like that? They only just missed out on the top seven, which was,
39:45which was crazy. And so that, yeah, they've both been strategic and they've not just done,
39:50we'll just get 12 players in, we'll ship, we'll ship so many out and get so many in.
39:54It's been quite considered and, and thoughtful and, and yeah, they're getting the benefits in,
40:01in early season, the pair of them. It's been, been a steady enough start really.
40:06Yeah. And finally for this week, I turn to Leon for his team of the week before going
40:11to Stuart for his player of the week. So Leon, who has impressed you this week?
40:17Well, in terms of teams, yeah, I mean, it was a reasonable, it was a reasonable weekend,
40:21wasn't it really? A decent result for, for Rotherham. I know a lot of people still be
40:26talking about bars with monkey on the bats with the home win, you know, and Rotherham with getting
40:31that, you know, first league away winning, God knows how long, but, you know, backing up from
40:36a good result against, good result and performance against, against Huddersfield at a point at
40:41Charlton who, they're one of, I'd expect Charlton to be in the top six mix this season. Nathan Jones
40:48is a good manager at this level and he gets his teams organised and motivated. Okay, they never
40:53won Rotherham, but I think that was a pretty presentable result, obviously going into a home
40:58game this weekend against Burton. So that was fair play there. Bradford winning the sort of
41:05home game that, if you're using a stick to beat them with, they haven't won enough of in the last
41:10sort of few seasons. That was good. Obviously Barnsley as well, you know, great to see them
41:18home at last and there's a bit of a, they've had a good few weeks at Barnsley, but I've got to go
41:22for Doncaster early. I mean, Stewart did, did the game. It's, you know, winning in all different
41:28manner, shapes and sizes. You know, they, I'd say they hammered Accrington on the opening day.
41:33Always sort of looking at it before the game, it looked like it might be one of those tense,
41:39tight games against a side who have also started the season well. And I just think the bottom line
41:44is 11 straight league wins at home, isn't it? Since the end of January, obviously taking out
41:50the crew playoff game, but that's, that's remarkable for them, isn't it? You know,
41:54to win 11 home games, home league games in a row. So yeah, I've got to, got to say Doncaster
42:00early. They've had a good start to the season and they're finding different ways to win by the look
42:06of it. Yeah, you certainly can't knock that. And yeah, similarly, you know, in terms of,
42:10in terms of player of the week, again, pretty spoilt for choice. It's been, you know,
42:15it's been a good win. We've talked about a lot of them already. Billy Sharp, tremendous goal,
42:22just doing what Billy Sharp does. Andy Cook, you can't knock two goals to win a game, you know,
42:28ever, whether they're the worst goals or the best goals. Old songs are the best, aren't they?
42:32Yeah, exactly. You know, Keylor Dunne, what a great way to introduce yourself to the
42:37Barnsley supporters. As Leon's mentioned, I'm a fully paid-up member of the Dre McGrath fan club.
42:44He was great again at centre-back, you know, one of Doncaster's least experienced centre-back
42:51coming in for one of the most experienced centre-back in the division and just making light
42:56of it. All good, you know. Mark Roberts' contribution for Barnsley, moving into the
43:02defence, great again. But I think, I think my player of the week, and again, a bit like Doncaster,
43:07it's becoming a bit of a broken record, but I don't care for that player yet. Adam Phillips,
43:12just continuing to really starve for Barnsley, continuing to score those goals that we worried
43:20about them lacking at centre-forward coming from midfield. He's had a really good start to the
43:26season, you know, and I haven't seen any of Barnsley's games this season. Leon's seen a few,
43:31but it looks from the outside as though it's one of those classic cases of a player looking around
43:36and saying, you know, we've lost a bit here. I'm good to be the one to step up and take the
43:41responsibility. I think it was important they kept hold of him, wasn't it? And I think looking
43:46at Barnsley a little bit, they're probably not going to have someone who scores 20-odd goals
43:51this season, are they really? They might get three or four who get, you know, 15 or something like
43:55that or 12. And, you know, Phillips, if he can, he came off with a little bit of a hamstring
44:03niggle. I don't think it's too serious. So hopefully he'll be okay. But if he's sort of
44:09sitting on debt for most of the season, he's nailed on to get you 10 goals, I'd say. Especially if
44:15they can keep him in January as well. Just one I missed off the list there,
44:19Phillips has been nominated as League One Player of the Month for August. Luke Molyneux has been
44:25for Doncaster. As I said earlier, he was good going forward, but actually his biggest contribution
44:30the other day was a goal line clearance, which just shows you there's that buy-in at Doncaster.
44:35You know, he's a really good player, a really good attacking player,
44:39but put him in the graphic as well.
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